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Thursday, September 27, 2007

FCC Chairman Martin is radio-friendly at his breakfast session

FCC_logo No thundering warnings about indecency, but mostly a mild-mannered Q&A with NAB Radio Board Chair Russ Withers, on the Chairman's home court in Charlotte. Martin supports broadcaster issues like FM translators to give some AM operators relief at night, and he praises radio for its vital role in emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina. He also praised Clear Channel and NAB for sponsoring a conference to help minorities and new entrants buy stations, and says the Commission will encourage other industries to conduct similar outreach efforts. No hints about the drift of the XM-Sirius merger, and there was a clear signal that Martin's interested in more reporting about programming - but not laying on new requirements. One of the best moments of the well-attended Chairman's Breakfast in Charlotte: Russ Withers' story about how one of his small-market stations broadcast the entire funeral of a local soldier, with "2000 people standing in a cornfield, listening."

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